noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'
carrying out the will of one's lord
Archaic term from feudal contexts; refers to faithfully executing a lord's commands or intentions. Not used in modern everyday Japanese.
家臣は主君の命を奉体し、戦場へ向かった。
The retainer carried out his lord's command and headed to the battlefield.
Compound of 奉 (ほう, 'to serve, obey') and 体 (たい, 'body, form'), literally 'to embody service'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; it appears in classical texts as a term for loyal execution of a superior's will.